Lubricator for railroad car axle journal box



Feb. 24, 1959 K. A. KLINGLER 2,875,003

LUBRICATOR FOR RAILROAD CAR AXLE JOURNAL BOX Filed March 15, 1957 k s Sheets-Sheet 1 J7? ya for flar/ J7. HZz ny/er Feb. 24, 1959 K. A. 'RLINGLER 2,875,003

LUBRICATOR FOR RAILROAD CAR AXLE JOURNAL BOX Filed March 15, 1957 1 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 J W2 2? for far? JZ /flz'n gier Feb. 24, 1959 K. A. KLINGLER 2,875,003

LUBRICATOR FOR RAILROAD CAR AXLE JOURNAL BOX 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed March 15, 1957 jievenzar United States Patent LUBRICATOR FOR RAILROAD CAR AXLE y JOURNALVBOX Karl A. Klingler, Naperville, Ill.

Application March 15, 1957, Serial No. 646,275

Claims. (Cl. 308-88) My invention relates to railroad car axle journal boxes and the like and has for one object to provide a lubricator for railroad car axle journal boxes wherein the lubricator may be placed in the box as a liquid, will be conveyed by capillary attraction from a reservoir to and discharged against the journal and wherein the wick conveying such material may be supported by the journal independent of and even without contact with the box itself.

Another object of my invention is to provide a re movable wiclolike lubricator which may be inserted in a journal box without any change or modification of the box and which will supply the necessary thin film of lubricant to the journal without the exertion of any pressure between the Wall of the box and the journal.

Other objects will appear from time to time throughout the specification and claims;

to engage the face of the journal at a point above the center line thereof so that the arcuate members are held in position on the journal by contact with the bear,- ing blocks because the opposed bearing blocks are closer together across the journal than the diameter of the journal and so the two arcuate members together hang from the journal. The fingers 20 each also include recessed chambers 23 adapted to contain bearing blocks 24, one to engage the perpendicular surfacebetween the journal 5 and the flange 6, the other to engage the curved surface between the journal 5 and axle 3 so as to limit longitudinally movement of the lubricator along the journal. The bearing blocks 22 are limited each in upper movement by contact with the brass 8 so that angular movement of the lubricator with the journal as the journal rotates is prevented by any such contact.

My invention is illustrated more or. less diagrammati- 1 cally in the accompanying drawings wherein- Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through a journal box with parts omitted showing the journal in side elevation;

Figure 2 is a section along the line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is .a side elevation of the lubricator unit;

Figure 4 is a section on an enlarged scale along the line 44 of Figure 3. I

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the specification and drawings.

The journal box 1 is provided at the front with the usual port adapted to be closed by the pivoted cover 2 through which in the conventional arrangement oil and waste are inserted to lubricate the journal. At the rear end a boxvis provided with an opening'of much greater diameter than. the axle 3 and encircling that opening is apocket 4 adapted to be filled with any suitable packing means, not here illustrated since they form no part of the present invention.

- The. journal 5 is integral with the axle at the end thereof, is of smaller diameter than the axle and terminates at its outer end in a collar 6, there being a shoulder 7 at the inner end of the journal where the diameter increases from the journal diameter to the axle diameter. The brass 8 rotates on the journal. 9 is the wedge interposed between the brass and the top of the journal box in the usual way. All these parts are stand ard and usual in railroad practice.

The lubricator itself comprises two stampings 10, 11. Each stamping is arcuate as indicated and extends approximately a quarter of the periphery of the axle or even a little more. Each stamping at its lower edge has a radial flange member 12, each member being recessed at 13 to provide a pocket for the pin 15. Each member 12 is apertured so that a bolt 16 having a head 17 passes through the two opposed parallel members 12, the spring 18 compressed by the bolt holding the members together encircling the bolt and inside a sleeve 19 which if the springs should weaken or break limits the Each of the arcuate plates or elements 10 and 11 has therein a plurality of recesses or slots 26 and between those recesses or slots are outwardly extending pockets 27. These pockets are adapted to contain elastomeric cushion elements 38 on the side toward the axle. Wicking 29 and 30 is threaded through the apertures 26 as indicated so that the wicking intermediate its ends is yieldingly pressed against the journal by the elastomeric cushion 2S and the two ends of the wicking hang down and may even contact the bottom of the journal box. These apertures and the elastomeric pads arevariously spaced about the periphery of the journal so that the oil is brought up to and placed in contact with the journal at different places to insure an even distribution.

The two radial members 12 and the arcuate elements are radially displaced to define together a wide pocket extending generally the length of the journal as indicated at 31. This pocket contains an elastomeric pad 32 and a wick 33 is wrapped around the pad, contacts the bottom of the journal and'extends downwardly between the members 12, the wick being cut away if desired so that in direct contact with the journal at a number of places.

The elastomeric pads behind the wick limit the pressure of the wick against the journal to such extent as will insure transfer of lubricant from wick to journal but will not build up the excessive pressures so commonly found in cases where waste is packed snugly between the journal and the bottom of thebox. Moreover, if the journal is displaced by vibration or the like in its position in the journal box, the wicks carried by the lubricating segment still remain in working contact with the journal and lubricate it even under conditions of temporary displacement or misalignment.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows:

In order to avoid the difliculty inherent in the use of waste of oil soaked waste stuffed into the space in the journal'box about the lower half of the journal which is undesirable first because of the friction resistance but more important because the fibers of the waste are drawn into the space between the journal and the brass causing hot boxes, I propose to use preformed wicking. It might be of felt, or cotton lamp wicking such as was used in the old fashioned kerosene lamp, the important thing being that the fibers are locked together so that they will not be dragged into the bearing space between the brass and journal and are so assembled that oil will be drawn by capillary attraction upwardly into contact with the journal.

When the horseshoe shaped hanger comprising the two arcuate perforate pocketedsheets is assembled, and the nut is tightened up to bring the desired pressure on the spring to cause the two halves of the hanger to drip on opposite sides of the journal above the center thereof, the wicking is brought into contact with the journal surface at a number of places, being cushioned by the rubber or elastomeric cushion and firmly held against the journal without too much friction. These wicks hang down separately into the oil bath at the bottom of the box, will conduct oil upwardly by capillary attraction to saturatethat part of the wick in contact with the journal so that as the axle turns the journal will be continuously lubricated with a thin film of oil and wiped elf from the wick. Since the hanger just'fits into the space between the collar on the end ofthe journal and the place where the journal joins the axle, the carrier or hanger will be constrained against excessive longitudinal movement by contact with the graphite plugs at the two ends of the carrier. Since other graphite plugs grip the journal and to hold the wicking in contact therewith and as long as contained within the pockets, the wicks where they extend across the pockets being yieldingly pressed by the pocket against the surface of the journal.

3. A lubricator for railroad car axle journals including a pair of opposed thin, flexible, perforate, segmental, cylindrical plates, flanges extending radially from the lower edges of the plates, a pivot interposed between said flanges adjacent their outer edges, the flanges between the pivot and the plate being perforate, holding means passing through the perforations and yielding means associated with theholding means biasing the plates into contact with and causingthem to encircle and hang from the railroad car alxl'e journal, each plate extending through an arc of more than ninety and less than one hundred eighty degrees, a plurality of lubricant conducting wicks threaded through, and adapted to contact the journal between, at least two of the apertures,

, the opposite ends of the wicks hanging freely downthere is any liquid in the journal box, that liquid will be 7 wardly from the plate through which they are threaded.

4. A lubricator for railroad car axle journals including a pair of opposed thin, flexible, perforate, segmental, cylindrical plates, pivoted together along their lower edges, yielding means adapted to bias them into, contact with, cause them to encircle and hang from a railroad car axle journal, each plate extending through an arc of more than ninety and less than one hundred eighty degrees, a plurality of lubricant conducting wicks, threaded through and adapted to contact the journal be tween, at least two of the apertures, the opposite ends of the wicks hanging freely downwardly from the plate through which they are threaded, a bearing block mounted adjacent and extending beyond the upper edge. of each of the two plates adapted to be held in sliding position more than ninety and less than one hundred eighty dea least two of the apertures, the opposite ends of the wicks hanging freely downwardly from the plate through which they are threaded.

2. A lubricator for railroad car axle journals including a pair of opposed thin, flexible, perforate, segmental, cylindrical plates, pivoted together along their lower edges, yielding means adapted to bias them into contact with, cause them to encircle and hang from a railroad car axle journal, each plate extending through an arc of more than ninety and less than one hundred eighty degrees, a plurality of lubricant conducting wicks, threaded through and adapted to contact the journal between, 'at least two of the apertures, the opposite ends of the wicks hanging freely downwardly from the plate through which they are threaded, a plurality of pockets in the plates associated with the apertures therein, elastomeric cushions against the surface of the journal by the yielding means.

5. A lubricator for railroad car axle journals including a pair of opposed thin, flexible, perforate, segmental, cylindrical plates, pivoted together along their lower edges, yielding means adapted to bias them into contact with, cause them to encircle and hang from a rail road car axle journal, each plate extending through an arc of more than ninety and less than one hundred eighty degrees, a plurality of lubricant conducting wicks, threaded through and adapted to contact the journal between, at least two of the apertures, the opposite ends of the wicks hanging freeely downwardly from the plate through which they are threaded, a bearing block adjacent the upper edge of each of'the plates project-ing longitudinally beyond the end of the plate.

Hagy s July 19, 1955 Klingler Aug. 1-4, 1956 

